BJP candidate Madhavi Latha, contesting from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, stirred controversy on Monday after a video surfaced showing her checking the identities of Muslim women voters at a polling station.
In the video, which went viral, Madhavi Latha is heard specifically asking burqa-clad Muslim women to remove their 'niqab' or face veil for verification.
"Uthaiye aap (lift this up)," Latha is heard saying to the women, gesturing towards their veils as she checks their voter ID cards.
The BJP candidate further questions the women, “How many years ago did you get this [voter card] made?”
She also requests their Aadhaar cards for additional verification.
Defending her actions, Madhavi Latha said, "I am a candidate. As per the law, a candidate has the right to check ID cards without face masks."
She claimed that asking the Muslim women to remove their burqas shouldn’t be a big deal as she was a woman too.
“I am not a man, I am a woman and with a lot of humbleness, I have only requested them - can I please see and verify with the ID cards. If somebody wants to make a big issue out of it, that means they are scared,” she said.
As the video depicting her actions was widely circulated, a case was registered against Latha at the Malakpet Police Station.
The incident marks another controversy for Latha, who had previously faced backlash after a video emerged on social media showing her mimicking the act of shooting an arrow towards a mosque during a Ram Navami procession.
A police complaint had been lodged against her under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 295A, which addresses intentional acts that offend religious sentiments.
Madhavi Latha is pitted against sitting Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and senior BRS leader Gaddam Srinivas Yadav from this high-profile seat.
